Blue Haired Beauty
by MangaMagic
Summary: Being the curious and impatient person she was, Ceil decided to search a sunken ship in the middle of a storm. Fortunately, she is rescued by a freckled rookie pirate, and finds herself traveling with him. What could go wrong you ask? Everything. AceXOC.
1. Prolouge

**I had the idea for a AceXOC fanfic for awhile (and I seem to be unable to keep my attention to one fanfic at a time) and I decided, "Hey! What could happen?" Well as you can see, I have gone and started ANOTHER fanfiction that I will have to take responsibility for, and will also have trouble updating...ugh...but I promise you, this fanfic, Dream Girl, and another soon to be uploaded fanfic (oh dear...) will be the center of my attention.**

**R&R!**

**~Your friendly neighborhood anime geek!**

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Ceil stood upon the bluff that gave the best view of the ocean in all of the Caribbean. Every morning she would wake in the dark, and travel up to the cliff to watch the heavenly sunrise; and watch as it sent it's orange rays of light onto the reflective surface of the ocean as it set once again.

The ocean was her life. It was an obsession to her and her family. When she wasn't in it - she was studying it. When she wasn't studying it - she was she was reading about it. And as she slept - she dreamt of it.

Her parents were what you called Marine Biologists; who taught her about nothing but the ocean and the history that took place in it's depths.

She was ignorant when it came to subjects such as: politics, government, and even literature. But, if you asked her about a plant or fungi, she would tell you everything - the proper name, the species, where it originated, and what climate region in grows in.

Everything about science she knew, especially if it had to do with water.

As she stood there she examined the small camera in her hands, then the slowly darkening sky above.

"Are you sure this is safe?" said Alex, peering over the edge to look at the cold, dark water that smashed against the rocky cliff side.

"Of course! I've done this like - a thousand times," she lied with a grin. It was a teensy white lie. She had jumped off the cliff about 0 times, but he wasn't exactly the best at detecting lies as she was.

"Don't be a pussy!" she laughed, slipping the camera into her waterproof bag.

"I am not!" he denied, "it's just that - shouldn't we wait until the sky doesn't look like it could, oh I don't know, DROWN US AT ANY MOMENT?"

She scratched her head and thought critically for a moment then said with a frown, "Physically, you can't drown from rain."

"Hey, it's never been proven," he stated.

"Yet~" she snickered, stripping her tank top off to leave her in a blue bikini too and her Bilabong Capris. She made sure her bag was strapped securely to her back before bounding to the edge of the cliff, only to be stopped by Alex's fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist.

"You aren't serious about doing this are you?" he breathed, his golden eyes brimming with worry.

She smiled gently at his actions and stroked his cheek softly with the fingers of her free hand. "Since when have you known me to not be serious?"

His eyes glazed over and he stared at her lips. He leaned in close to her, enough so that she could feel his hot breath on her lips. For him, it was the moment of truth, but just as his lips were about to brush against hers, she slipped away and disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

So many times had Alex tried to take her first kiss away, but every time she would escape just when he thought he had her. They were supposed to be a couple, dating for almost a year, and yet they had never kissed. A gentle nip on the neck, or a nibble of the earlobe was the closest he had ever gotten to her lips. Some people still found it a surprise they had never kissed. And she wanted to keep it that way.

Ceil shook her head with a smile, her movements slowed by the water. She truly loved Alex and his antics, but she could never let him have her lips. Her lips and her virginity were what she treasured most, and would never give to another, until she found that one special person whom she could not resist. She felt bad about admitting it, but Alex just wasn't the one.

Ceil swam deep into the dark, cold sea in search of the rumored ship that was untouched by the sea itself. And there it was, an ebony ship that appeared as if it were sailing on the seabed.

As she swam closer she saw that something was odd with the ship. Surrounding the body of the ship was a bubble - no water touched it's deck. It's sailed were red and on the bow sat two mermaids who held the front cannon.

She had thought it would look different. She hadn't expected to find the Black Pearl or anything, but what sat before her seemed a little more impossible than the former notion.

Ceil took a chance and pressed her finger tips to the bubble, and with a little pressure her hands slipped right through. Her eyes widened with her smile and she dived into the bubble, only to land harshly on the deck.

"Nope, that's not weird at all!" she laughed, starring up at the array of sea life around the ship.

Fish of thousands of sizes, shapes, and colors swam by the air pocket as if it weren't there. Sharks circled as well, mingling with it's fishy brethren.

She made a mental note to herself to be extremely careful on her way back to the surface.

The exploration of the ship was like Christmas day, every new discovery was a present itself. Precious jewels and gold was scattered across the ship, torrents of them spilling from the doors she opened. And of course how could she resist such temptations! The sparkling gold was something only people who were too ignorant to appreciate money could resist the mocking. She would gather the smallest, most valuable jewels before she wandered off to find more.

She opened the last door, yet no jewels nor coins were in the room. A lone chest occupied the large space, a large golden lock keeping it sealed.

A devil-like smile made it's way to her lips and she slowly tiptoed around the box before stopping at the lock. She gave it a hard tug to test it's strength - not even budging.

"Tricky little bastard, aren't you?" she hissed. Out of her backpack she pulled a crowbar and expertly broke the lock. She three the crowbar in the air, twirling in midair, then falling back into her waiting palm and kissed it.

"Just knew you'd come in handy!"

Very slowly, she lifted the lid, and to her disappointment - it was empty.

She frowned and slumped. "All that for nothing..."

She began to stand and stopped when a glint of silver from inside the chest caught her eye. Ceil reached in and pulled out two items.

A necklace and hairpin.

Both were aquamarine in color. The necklace a teardrop jewel suspended by a thin, but sturdy, silver chain. The hairpin was a crystal flower with specs of white mixed in with the blue.

She didn't even give it a second thought as she slipped the necklace over head, and the clip into her black locks.

She glanced at her watch and decided that it would be best for her to depart then, as to not make Alex worry. She found her way back up to the deck and dove into the water.

As she swam happily to the surface she realized something bone chillingly terrifying. She forgot about the sharks.

Mental note: Never rely on mental notes.

She gritted her teeth and looked over her shoulder to see the shark lurking toward her, it's teeth readied to tear her limb from limb. She wanted to move out of the way, to dodge the jaws, yet her body was frozen with fear.

Soon enough, the shark attached itself to her leg, sinking it's teeth into her calf. Her eyes widened and she screamed - not a wise thing to do. All of the air left her lungs at once, leaving her at the mercy of the sea.

Ceil reached for the dark light that shined down through the surface of the water. It was so close, yet so far. As her body became numb, her vision blurred, and her lungs burned - she knew that she would never see that light again. She would never see her parents or Alex's smiling faces again. And she would never give any man, nor Alex, what she had waited so long to give.

The shark released her leg, almost in fear, and raced away from the swirling water. The storm above the ocean became violent and churned the water, twisting the currents into a vortex that drew everything in - including Ceil.

In a flash of blue light, the whirlpool disappeared as quickly as it appeared, taking the young curious explorer with it.

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**Sorry it's so short - just wanted to add suspense! Hope you look forward to the next chapter!**

**~Review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: You're The Crazy One**

Ceil felt almost as if she were floating…or was she? She could feel nothing, even the intense burning pain that had once invaded her lungs was just an aching memory. She was surrounded by a bright blue light that seemed to warm her straight through.

'_Did I drown_?' she thought, the question echoing in the air around her. '_Is this heaven?_'

She looked around herself, desperate to find an answer to her question, though found nothing but the strange light. A sigh escaped her lips and she allowed herself to float endlessly in the blue void for what seemed like hours - which eventually struck a nerve.

"Uh, hey god?" she voiced, looking around the void in embarrassment for having to resort to it. "If you're here, mind sending me a message of some kind? Singing angels or a holy light? 'Cause, no offense god, but you're really starting to piss me off with this mysterious blue light crap."

To her chagrin, she received none of what she asked, or anything akin to a sign that she was not alone. She let out a scream of frustration, unable to take her boredom and anger. She went to throw her fist at any object that happened to be in her path, only to realize that she was surrounded by the blue nothingness when she launched her fist and found herself spinning uncontrollably.

Once her spinning had halted, she resorted to throwing things, and pulled the largest object she had with her from her bag and flung it - being her favorite crowbar - into the blue nothingness, disappearing almost instantly. She stared blankly at the disappearing image of her crowbar before letting out a cry, "MY CROWBAR!"

She drooped in failure, but almost immediately perking up and screaming when something struck the back of her head. She whirled around to give whoever had hit her a piece of her mind, only to see the crowbar she had just thrown floating before her.

She grabbed it and examined it gleefully. "So that's why I feel like I've been going around in circles…"

Ceil observed her surroundings again and sighed. "So this is what happens when you die a virgin - you go to Limbo." she grumbled.

Suddenly, the blue light around her concentrated into one point, the void becoming a dull black. She gazed ahead at the light and saw the blue necklace she had 'excavated' from the shipwreck. She glanced down at her chest, where she had put it before, to find the artifact missing, then back to the one that floated before her.

She cautiously reached forward, and when the jewel met the flesh of her hand, she felt and odd rushing feeling surge through her and the faint whispering of several voices in the back of her mind. As soon as the chain was securely clasped around her neck a drop of water found it's way onto her cheek, followed by the rush of water.

Fear ripple through her as she looked above, to find seawater surging toward her. When it hit her, the burning from her lungs returned, and unconsciousness overtook her.

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Ace found it good to relax after a tiring swim. He lay stretched out on his small boat, his yellow shirt dangling from the mast as the water dried from it.

Ace had forgotten to remove his shirt and shoes before plunging into the cold water, but none the less fished with them on anyways, causing him to miss a few very delectable looking fishes. But, he caught some fish anyway, so all he could do was relax the rest of the day while his clothing dried.

Ace had just started his journey, having left his island just barely days before, and was eager to find the beginning of his crew - starting with his first-mate. Even though he was eager to continue his almost non-existent adventure, he didn't find any reason to not relax for a day or two before continuing on.

A large blue flash flickered across Ace's eyelids, and he found himself rubbing his eyes involuntarily, wondering if looking at the sun for too long had begun to effect his vision. Not soon after he heard the sound of something crashing into the water not far from his boat, and he lifted himself up onto his elbows to peek over the railing. What he saw, nearly made his heart stop.

Floating in the water near his boat was a girl, her body face down in the water. Ace immediately went to her rescue, diving into the water and wrapping a strong arm around her thin waist. He pulled her onto the ship and laid her out on the floor to examine her.

He hated to admit it, but he had no idea what to do when helping a drowning victim. Even though he had seen it done several times, he was unsure of what to do from there.

'_Maybe I should have paid attention to those CPR lessons Makino made me go to…_' he thought somberly as he realized that the girl was not breathing.

He spoke too soon - technically thought in his case - when the girl took a gasp of air and turned on her side to cough up the sea water from her lungs.

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Ceil's eyes snapped open, and when she took a breath she found herself on her side, spitting up the seawater in her lungs violently.

She felt a hand gently pat her back, helping her remove the foreign object from her lungs. Slowly, Ceil lifted her gaze and met two onyx eyes staring at her in concern.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked her, frowning when she coughed again and rubbed her burning throat.

She gave him a weak smirk. "Never been better," she said hoarsely, the salt from the water making her throat raw.

The boy grimaced and helped Ceil into a sitting position before handing her a bottle of water he pulled from the storage box behind him. "Drink this."

She did as he commanded, an gulped down the water, although it stung her throat, it seemed to help. "Thank you…um-'

"Ace," the freckled boy chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "So what happened to you?"

Ceil glanced around herself curiously to see that the two of them were in the middle of the ocean. She answered him as she gazed off at the ocean, "I was salvaging some valuables from a sunken ship during a storm, and when I was heading to the surface I got sucked in by a whirlpool."

Ace shook his head and sweat dropped. "And what exactly gave you the idea that is was fine to go into the ocean in the middle of a storm? You could have gotten killed!"

She crossed her arms and huffed. "You sound like my mother."

Ace snorted. "If I was, I would have died of a heart attack by now."

Ceil laughed at his lame joke, but grabbed her throat and groaned soon after. "Not to self: never almost drown, you wont like the consequences."

"So where are you from?" Ace asked as he slipped a yellow shirt onto his shoulders.

"The Caribbean, lived there most of my life," she answered, swallowing another gulp of the cool water.

Ace tapped his chin in thought, "Hm, never heard of that place before. Is it an island here in the East Blue?"

Ceil gave Ace a quizzical look and snorted. "You don't know you're geography do you? There's no ocean named 'East Blue', and the Caribbean is an ocean region with a chain of islands off the coast of America."

Ace stared at her speechless then went and grabbed a roll of parchment from the storage box. He laid it out in front of her and pointed to the North Eastern Hemisphere of the map and looked up at her in concern. "This is the East Blue, where we are now. There is no ocean named the 'Caribbean'."

Ceil stared at the map in disbelief. Was he making fun of her? How dare he use her disorientation as a way of making her seem stupid. Never had she felt so humiliated in her life.

She slammed her hand down on the map, startling Ace into stumbling back. "Are you making fun of me? I'm a biologist and geographer, and I know for sure that this map is a fake! Don't try to trick me into believing that I'm on some other planet, because you have no proof other than this badly drawn map!"

Ace slammed his hands down next to hers and towered over her, showing off his greater body mass. "What the hell are you talking about? This is a map of here! Your god damn crazy! Next you're gonna say you've never heard of Sea King before!"

Ceil stood up and looked down on him. "What in bloody hell is a Sea King? If it's anything like the Loch Ness monster, then by all means, go ahead and show me proof of this mythical 'Sea King'!" she ranted, throwing her hands up in her fury.

Unbeknown to her - as she was ranting during this time - a large, towering figure had risen out of the water behind her and stared at the furious girl curiously.

Ace's jaw dropped and he stared over her shoulder fearfully, pointing at the figure behind her.

"Oh don't give me that 'there's something behind you' act, 'cause it's NOT gonna work! But y'know what, I'm gonna turn around just to humor you, 'cause I know there isn't anything behi-oh…my…god," she said. During her speech, she had decided to turn around to see the large form of a fish-like bird, consisting of a beak and fins.

"GET DOWN!" Ace screamed, pulling the girl down by her head just as the Sea King jumped over them and disappeared.

Ceil and Ace stared at the rippling water the monster had left in it's wake. Ace gave Ceil a smirk and a smug look from the corner of his eyes. "You were saying?"

Ceil gulped and shook her head. "I have just currently thrown everything I know about the sea out the window - or in this case over the railing…"

"Uh…girl? You're leg it's uh…hurt pretty bad," Ace remarked, giving her calf a worried look.

She looked down at her left leg to see the jagged crescent marks of the shark bite had crusted over with dried blood, and were in danger of becoming infected. She looked up at Ace and gave him a crooked smile. "You, uh, mind helping the crazy girl with her leg?"

Ace smacked his forehead but went to bandaging her leg and cleaning the wound anyway.

Ceil blushed as his hands delicately cradled her leg while he bandaged it. "M-My name's Ceil by the way…"

Ace finished tying the gauze around her leg and looked up at her amused. "You mean like the big fat sea animal?" he joked.

An irk mark could be seen on the back of her head and she shoved her injured foot in his face. "No you twit, like the color! Blue?"

Ace nodded his head. "Oh, I get it, they named you 'cause of you're hair color."

Ceil looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Okay, now you're the crazy one. My hair is-" Ceil had stopped in speech and stared at her reflection in the water.

The usual black coloring to her hair had been replaced by a bright cyan color that resemble that of the color of the crystal flower in her hair - that was now a simple clear crystal. The only thing she could recognize in her reflection was her sea foam green eyes, and the beauty mark under her right eye. She reached out and touched her reflection, making the water distort, then found she saw the same thing when the water settled.

"Ah, fuck my life…"


	3. Chapter 2

**Me: Okay, so I forgot to say this in the last chapter but, I do not own One Piece and unfortunately I do not own the hottness that is Ace. I do however own any characters or towns you do not recognize.**

**Ace: Hey why didn't I get to say it?**

**Me: Cause you are not as awesome as me! (okay maybe you are but I wont admit it...) Oh, everyone who reviewes gets a big ol' kiss from Ace or Ceil**

**Ace & Ceil: WE NEVER AGREED TO THAT!**

**Me: R&R!**

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Chapter 2: I'm Not A Pirate!

Ace watched the girl closely as she paced back and forth mumbling incoherent things to herself. After she had a complete mental breakdown accompanied by screaming, a lot of pinching in attempt to wake up, and another dive into the sea when the girl tried to drown herself again thinking it would bring her back 'home'.

He was afraid that she would attempt to do something life threatening again. The last time he had seen someone so mentally unstable was the time when Fuschia Village had a cattle shortage and Luffy went on a rampage when he couldn't get his meat.

"Um…maybe-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Ace began, only to freak out when she began slamming her head into the wooden mast. He grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. Her forehead was red, a small stream of blood dripping down between her eyes, several splinters embedded in the wound.

Ace sighed. "Are you a masochist or something?"

She blushed furiously. "N-No you idiot! I'm just trying to wake myself up! The only way this is possible is if my subconscious mind is creating a representation of -"

Ace sighed and slapped his face as the girl continued her psychology lesson on the human subconscious.

_'Today…is going to be a long day'_

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"Mmphg!" Ceil screamed, frowning under the cloth that kept her from speaking. The freckled boy Ace was currently pulling the splinters from her forehead as he treated her self-inflicted wound.

"Hold still…" Ace murmured, holding her chin as he plucked another wood fragment from her forehead.

She squeaked and squeezed her eyes shut as he finished treating her, applying a large bandage over the wound.

"There. Now, I'll take off the gag and binds if you promise not to try and kill yourself for no apparent reason - again," he said, motioning to the ropes binding her feet and hands.

She stared silently at him for a moment, contemplating if she would really stop her attempts at waking up. Eventually, she rolled her eyes and nodded, and he cautiously untied her - never taking his eyes off her as she walked toward her belongings.

She rummaged through her bag for a moment before her hand came in contact with a small cylindrical object. She pulled it from her bag and set it on the deck before reaching for her pants, removing her belt.

"WOAH WOAH!" WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Ace screamed, rushing to cover his eyes.

Ceil rolled her sea-foam orbs. "I'm wearing a bathing suit underneath you perv. Though, I doubt you wouldn't mind a peep show."

Ace nodded and rubbed his chin. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind one…HEY! I am not a pervert!"

"You aren't helping your case much by confirming it," she mumbled as she opened each of the pockets and dumped all of her treasures onto the deck.

Ace's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and he scrambled over on his hands and knees to the slowly growing pile. "Where in the world did you find all this! There's at least 1,000,000 beli here!"

"Beli?" Ceil wondered aloud, but quickly brushed it off and took her gem magnifier and examined each of the expensive jewels. "I told you before that I was excavating a sunken ship before you rescued me. These are some of the…samples I retrieved from it."

Ace slung his muscled arm over Ceil's thin shoulders and laughed loudly. "This is awesome! We're not going to have any trouble with money for awhile!"

Ceil ducked under his arm and stood protectively next to her piles of money. "What do you mean we? This is just temporary until I find my way home. And this treasure belongs to me anyway."

Ace clicked his tongue and gave her a sad smile. "Sweetie, I saved your life, that definitely deserves a little compensation."

She snorted and crossed her bare arms over her chest. "You talk as if saving me was merely a quick way in hopefully getting repaid for your 'generous' actions?" she retorted.

Ace rubbed his chin in thought and gave her a half-smirk. "I guess you could say that."

Ceil rolled her eyes and gave the freckled boy the finger. "Sucks to be you then, 'cause you're not getting anything!"

The freckled boy grinned and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, we'll see about that."

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"Hey, I'm gonna go off and get something to eat. You comin'?" Ace said, sticking his hands in his pockets and stepping onto the dock of the island they docked at.

Ceil shook her blue locks and pulled the small sack of treasure over her shoulder. "No. I'm gonna go get this crap appraised and buy myself a boat to get myself out of this hell hole."

Ace shrugged and started off towards the town, but halted and looked at the girl from over his shoulder. "Y'know you could always just come along with me. I'm trying to gather a crew, and you could be the first official member!"

Ceil scoffed. "A pirate? Are you fricking insane? I'm just trying to figure out my way home, and from what you've told me, the marines are always hunting them. So, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna try to not draw attention to myself by getting myself a one way ticket to the gallows." And with her final word, she set off into the large town in search of an appraiser who would accept her rather large load.

Her first impression of the port town was it was a small bustling fishing town - something similar to what you would see in the usual pirate movie from back home, but when she saw the constant traveling of villagers and travelers ranging from traveling merchants to pirates making their way from stall to stall, she realized that it was more like her world than she realized. It reminded her of one of those flea markets her mother would bring her to when she was young, only slightly older in fashion. Even though she had only been in this strange world for barely a day, she found the heavy weight of homesickness take hold of her heart. She averted her eyes from the market and focused on finding an appraiser - quickly.

Her eyes locked on an old elderly woman at one of the stalls, and she decided it wouldn't hurt to ask for direction, so she weaved through the crowd and stood before the older woman.

"Excuse me ma'am?" she said politely, remembering to put a smile on to not scare the lady.

The woman gave her a crooked smile, her teeth missing with age. "What can I interest you in dearie? You look like a light jewelry type of girl," she cackled, motioning her hand over the table in front of her.

"Actually, I was hoping you could point me to the nearest appraiser. I have a bit of gold and stuff I'd like to cash in."

The woman eyed the satchel over her shoulder and grinned. "Ah, such a young pirate, reminds me of the old days. Where did you acquire this gold, eh? From those bastard marines I hope."

Ceil shook her head quickly. "No, no, no. I'm not a pirate, just a lost girl. I got this from one of my salvages. I guess you could say I'm not exactly the type of salvager who turns in her findings to her superiors."

The woman cackled and slapped her knee. "I know exactly what you mean dearie! Between you and me, I used to be a pirate, but the only real thing I cared about that life was the freedom and the gold!"

"Freedom?" Ceil wondered aloud. '_Wasn't piracy all about the pillaging and plundering?'_

"Ah, yes, the freedom," she sighed in nostalgia. "The freedom from those marine bastards and their 'rules'. The freedom of the open ocean, the freedom of independence, the freedom from this damned world's twisted views. Never mattered what type of pirate you were, however, you were still a threat to the order of the world. But, if you ask me this world needs a little disorder, don't you think?"

"I guess," Ceil murmured, disbelief crossing her face as she thought about it. '_I guess all of those stereotypical movies aren't as accurate as they appear...maybe it wouldn't be that bad being a pirate.'_

"If you're looking for a high paying appraiser, dearie, then I would go to Jack's Jewels. I know the owner pretty well, and he'd give you a good price on your stash there. Just tell 'em Old Wanda sent you and you get the best offer. His place is in the alley between those buildings over there. Be sure to come back to me, I think I have something you might like, 'ya hear?"

Ceil nodded with a true grin plastered on her face. "Thanks Mrs. Wanda! Don't worry, I'll come back!" After departing from the old woman's stall, she traveled to the gap that she had pointed out, and found a small door in the back of the alley, a sign reading Jack's Jewels hanging above the door. She gave the handle a small tug and it creaked open to show a small furnished lounge, filled with burly men and busty women adorned with gold and jewelry. The women flirted with the men, and showed off the large cleavage they weren't ashamed to show, and tugged on the men's gold chained necklaces, tempting them into playing a 'game' with them, all the while picking the unknowing men's pockets of their gold. Each of the people in the room had a small bag or satchel of, presumably, gold or valuables.

Ceil gulped as all eyes focused on her, the men giving her hungry grins, and the women glaring openly at the blue-haired beauty that stood in the doorway.

_'This looks more like a whore house, than an appraising building',_she thought, nervously making her way to the window at the other side of the room, avoiding any eye-contact with the other customers in the room.

"What do you want?" the woman at the counter grumbled, never taking her eyes off the newspaper in her hands.

"Um, Mrs. Wanda sent me. She said I could get a good deal here," Ceil murmured, tightening her hold on the bag slung over her shoulder.

The woman looked up abruptly and her eyes widened. "MRS. WANDA!" she screeched, causing the entire lounge to go quiet.

Ceil glanced around at the room and saw the people all had horrified expressions on their face, several of them inching their way toward the door in fear. "Was it something I said?" she asked, looking back at the fidgeting woman behind the woman.

She shook her hands quickly. "No, no no! What makes you think that? Jack will take you right now if you want! Go on back!" she sputtered, pointing to the gold encrusted door.

The blue-haired girl nodded slowly and went to the door and it, like the last door, creaked open ominously. She stepped into the room and marveled at the high ceilings and the gold silk couches in the middle of the room. At the other end, behind a desk, sat an elderly man scribbling on a piece of parchment, stopping every few moments to type something into the small calculator next to his hand.

He glanced up at her and smiled gently, showing several missing teeth. Unlike the perverse men in the lounge, this man had an air of knowledge, and reminder Ceil almost of a grandfather type figure. Hanging from his chin was a small whitened beard, and his hair was nearly non-existent.

"Well, what do we have here? I hear little old Wanda sent you to my humble abode," he chuckled, standing with a creak, and a few cracking of his joints. He motioned for her to sit at the couch, and she complied, and watched as he slowly shuffled his way to the one opposite of her.

"Yes, she said you would give me the best deal in town on my load here." Ceil placed the heavy load before the man, allowing the top to open to show the valuables inside.

The elder man smirked, and nodded in acknowledgement of my stash, before pulling out a small notepad from the drawer on the table and jotted down some numbers. "Will you spread it out for me?"

Ceil nodded and lifted the opening before tilting the bag on it's side, spreading the considerable amount of money onto the table. "Hey, sir? Why did everyone react so badly when I mentioned Ms. Wanda?"

He smiled, and glanced up at her briefly before sifting through the pile. "She was a very infamous pirate back in the day. She was notorious for killing marines that came across her path. She was also a very close friend of the Gold Roger, the Pirate King, before his passing. That was the main reason she was given a bounty that would make hunters drool. But, becuase of her age, the marines believe she is of no threat anymore, and leave her be. But, she still seems to scare everyone away with just her name still." The old man cackled at his own words and lifted a rather curious gem from the pile.

"My, my. What do we have here?" he said, adjusting his glasses on the tip of his nose for a better look.

"It's a necklace I found in the shipwreck. It seemed valuable, so I thought I might as well sell it, rather than keep it for myself," Ceil said, looking down at her chest where the necklace once hung.

"I see...but do you know what this is?"

Ceil shook her head and looked at it curiously.

"This necklace was a very valued artifact belonging to the King Neptune's daughter; it's supposed to cause miracles and heal. It was thought to be lost about 30 years ago. What did this ship look like, exactly?"

Ceil tapped her chin and glanced at the ceiling as she thought. "Um, the bow of the ship had two mermaids supporting a cannon, and the sails were deep red, and it seemed that the wood was somewhere between red and black."

"Jackson!" the man screamed in shock.

Ceil frowned. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just the ramblings of an old man," he covered. He also took the flower crystal from the pile and frowned. "Let me guess, your hair isn't naturally blue?"

Ceil's eyes widened. "...how?"

He motioned to the crystal in his hand. "Sea Crystal Flowers. Grown only in Neptune's Garden. They're a special type of flower that survives by swapping colors. It pulls out the color of something and swaps it with it's own. Though, it seems this one has reached the last leg of it's life, and it couldn't absorb the color from you're hair."

Ceil slumped. "So that means I can't turn my hair back can I?" And the man replied with a shake of his head.

"Well, you have quite a considerable amount of spare change here. I'll give you 25,000,000 beli for the lot of it."

"R-Really? T-Thats a lot of money..." Ceil sputtered.

He laughed and patted her hand. "To tell you the truth, there's only about 20,000,000 beli here. But, I'm giving you a bit more seeing as little old Wanda has seemed to have taken a liking to ya'!"

"T-Thank you!" she said quickly, the urge to jump across the table at the man was her dominant emotion.

He left the room for a moment and came back with a briefcase. "Here you are missy! Use it wisely!" He said and handed her the case.

She ran for the door and stopped before looking at the man who followed close behind her. "Hey, how do you know Ms. Wanda?"

He smiled and opened the door for her and she stepped out. "Well, she's my wife of course!" he said before closing the door behind her.

* * *

After Ceil's encounter with the man dubbed Jack, she found herself standing back at Ms. Wanda's stall again, wanting to know what exactly it was she had for her. When Ms. Wanda had seen her coming back, she had hastily ran into the building behind her, and returned with a medium sized traveling bag.

"What's this?" Ceil asked, taking the bag from the elderly woman, reaching to open it.

"Don't open it until you're back at sea. I just, thought you could use some of my old things from when I was your age. I think you could bring them to better use than I ever did." she anwsered. "Now, are you sure you aren't going to become a pirate?"

Ceil nodded and slung the bag over her shoulder. "Yeah, I just don't want to bring myself any more problems than I already have."

"Then I wish you luck, dearie. It's gonna be hard to not be mistaken for a pirate. Be careful, and be wary who you trust."

"Thank you so much, Ms. Wanda!" Ceil said, leaning over the table and kissing the elderly woman on the cheek before running off to find the shipyard.

Unfortunately, Lady Luck never seemed to be on her side, and she found herself walking by the same restaurant that her former companion was dining in. When she walked by, she heard the distinct sound of her name being called, before yelling ensued right after. She was afraid to turn around, but curiosity was always one of her weak points, and she hesitantly turned and saw Ace running toward her, and a man with a large butcher knife chasing after him.

She screamed and began to run along with Ace, after finding that the man thought the two of them to be accomplices. "Ace, you jackass!"

"Why are you yelling at me? You didn't have to run too!" Ace replied, equally terrified.

"Stop you pirates! Stop them! They didn't pay!" the man screamed, throwing his knife, which passed between their heads and embedded in a pole ahead.

"I'm not a pirate!" Ceil screamed at the same moment Ace bellowed, "Yup! We're pirate's alright!"

"What is wrong with you!" she screeched, guarding her head with her free hand.

"Nothing, what makes you think that?" Ace said with a laugh.

"...dumbass," she grumbled.

* * *

Ceil found herself back in the small boat with Ace again, a childish pout on her lips, as Ace steered the ship away from the coast of the island where the restaurant owner was now jumping around in a rage filled fit.

"Well, it seems you're a pirate weather you want to be or not, so you might as well stick with me, eh?" Ace chuckled.

Ceil ignored him and glared at the clear ocean. She wasn't entirely mad at him, because it was her fault for following after him in the first place. The next island they docked at she would ditch him and buy herself her own boat. Yup, that was exactly what she would do, and with the money she had just acquired it would make it a whole lot ea-

"Hey, what's that?" Ace interrupted her thoughts to bring her attention to the briefcase in front of him. He reached out and flipped the latches and heard Ceil scream, "Don't open it!", but he did at that moment, and he found himself filled with a face full of paper, until the majority of it was gone and all that remained was a couple stacks of grey paper.

"Was that what I think it was..." Ace whispered, gulping as he stared at the belis remaining in the case.

Ceil slumped to the deck and nearly cried. "I hate you~" she sobbed, drawing circles in the wood with her index finger.

Ace slumped into a similar fashion to hers and moaned regretfully. "I hate me too..."

The only thing that could be seen in the boat was two sobbing teenagers and the bright sparkling of a crystal flower and a Sapphire teardrop that seemed to laugh at their despair from within the black case.


	4. Chapter 3

**Me: Yay! I'm back!**

**Ace: What took you so long?**

**Me: I was focusing on completing chapters for my Dream Girl story that I wanted to post on Usopp and Brook's b-day.**

**Ace: Why didn't you do one for me.**

**Me: I did, but I put it up the day before and dedicated it to my friends who's b-days were the day before, and I kinda…forgot.**

**Ace: (sarcasticlly) I can just feel the love...**

**Me: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE! IF YOU REVIEW YOU CAN STROKE ACE'S ABS!**

**Ace: WHAT THE FUCK?**

**Karen: To address your comment I'd like to  
say one little thing****(and I'm not trying  
to be rude) but if you would actually take  
the time to read and not just skim  
through, then you'd realise that this was  
BEFORE Ace got his devil fruit, when he  
first started his journey from Fuscia Village.  
So don't try to make me seem stupid. (Sorry  
but I take things to offense if people don't  
seem to notice obvious things and try to  
make me seem like a newby One Piece fan.)**

* * *

**Chapter 3: What Kind of Pirate?**

Ceil had taken a vote of silence after Ace's blockheaded move, and refused to speak a word to him, no matter how many times he had tried to gain her attention. She now spent her time counting her remaining beli repeatedly, in hopes that there would be more than the last time she had counted.

So far she had counted 15 times.

"100,000," she mumbled for the fifth time, throwing the small stack back into the suitcase next to the two pieces of jewelry the man had slipped into it before her departure.

"Hey Ceil?"

She grumbled at his voice and ignored the freckled-boy, and went back to counting the smaller than supposed to be pile of beli.

"Ceil?"

The girl in question's eyebrow twitched noticeably, but she did not anwser his voice calling to her.

"C'mon Ceil!"

"WHAT ACE!" she screamed, twisting her torso around to glare at the freckled boy. "What the hell could be so important that you MUST repeat my name!"

He gulped and scooted back slowly, afraid that the blue-haired girl was currently becoing close to that time that meant death to all men near them. "I-I wanted to apoligize again-"

She snorted at him. "Apology isn't going to go and get our money Ace, if you hadn't noticed."`

He blinked and a sly grin spread over is lips. "Hey...you ust said _our_ money. So you've finally decided to join me as a pirate?"

Ceil mentally chided herself for her slip of the tounge and made a mental note to watch what she said around the freckled boy to make sure her words had no repercutions again. But just after she realized that mental notes rarely did her any good, so she pulled out a marker from her bag and wrote a small list on her forearm.

"What are you doing?" Ace asked, unsure if he really wanted to know.

She capped the marker and held her arm out for him to read.

**_Rules to follow:_**

**_1.) Never rely on mental notes._**

**_2.) Never listen to men (or pirates) - especially ones with freckles._**

**_3.) Never become a pirate unless you have no intention of going home._**

**_4.) Watch what you say around Ace - he WILL eventually find a way to turn it against you._**

**_5.) Don't eat beans, they give you gas._**

Ace sweatdropped at her as he read the list written in blue marker on her skin. "What's with the last one? And how the hell did you even fit that all on your arm in the first place?"

She shrugged and said. "The last one was just one my mom would tell me every morning, and I just didn't want to forget it."

"Right..." Ace drawled, shaking his head and sighing. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait to get a ship. I don't thing anything other than a dingy would go for that price."

She snapped her head in his direction and narrowed her eyes menacingly - which just gave the illusion that she was pouting cutely because of her small child curved face. "What is it with you and constantly refering to us as '_we'_? I am not a part of your crew, nor will I ever be. So just get that through your thick head."

He chuckled under his breath and turned his face to hid a perverted smirk. "Which one~?"

Ceil cocked her head in confusion, thinking back over what she had just said before it finally clicked and her face grew bright red. "You are such a perverted asshole."

He gave her a blank stare and with all serious he anwsered, "I'm not a perv, I just have a dirty mind."

Ceil frowned at Ace and shook her head in shame. "Y'know, I can't believe I actually did considered your proposal of becoming a pirate..."

His face brightened and a eide smile spread across his face below his freckled cheeks. "Really?"

She nodded, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked down at him. "I DID, did being the keyword. But, it doesn't mean I am anymore," she said, her glare intensifying as she remembered the past few day's happenings. "But after you pretty much ruined all chances of me ever going home, I've decided to never become a pirate. Not with you. Not with anybody."

A look of dissapointment crossed Ace's face, her last menacing words striking him like a nail, so much that it hurt. He looked off at the ocean and tapped his blunt nails on the railing. "Would you atleast...think about it again? Maybe stop looking at the negatives and focus on the positives of piracy?"

"WHAT POSITIVES!" She snapped, stomping her foot so hard the boat rocked even in it's movement. Tears brimmed in her eyes and her lip trembled as her ire grew stronger. "All I want to do is just go home! I want to see my parents and my friends again. And if I become a pirate, it narrows my chances to pretty much nothing. Nobody will trust me enough to want to help me! It was a close call with that resturant owner - he probably even reported us to the Marines-"

"For a dine-and-dash?" he scoffed, chuckling at my assumption. "I don't think that's really worthy of a wanted poster."

"So! First it will be a dine-and-dash, next it will be stealing valuables, and eventually we'll be killing innocent civilians just for the fun of it! That's all pirates do! Kill, plunder, and rape! KILL, PLUNDER, AND RAPE!"

Ace's heart practically stopped when he heard her descriptions of what she believed pirates did in their free time, and it was even worse that she had come to believe that ALL pirates did those things.

Ceil's panted, her cheeks flushed with rage, tears slowly dripping off her chin, she slowly bowed her head ans said in a faint whisper, "I just wanna go home..."

He gulped and turned away to watch the waves splash by the boat as it sailed over the current. "I'm not going to force you into becoming a pirate, it's your choice," he mumbled after some thought, turning his head the slightest to look her in th eyes - his own ebony ones brimmed with hurt. "I'll drop you off at the next island so you can go. I'll give you a day there to make up your mind-"

"I already have," she grumbled, interupting him.

"-but if you change your mind," he continued. "Just come back before sunset, and we'll act like it never happened..."

* * *

Soon enough, the two teens came upon another island. It was rather small compared to the last they had visited, inhabited by a small village of a hundred or so people. The dock was rather small, and would probably only house a single full-sized vessel, but luckily for them it seemed that no other travelers were there.

Ceil hastily grabbed her valuables from under one of the benches, the bag she had arrived with, the suitcase with the money, and the bag Mrs. Wanda had presented her with that she had yet to open.

"Don't forget to thik about it for a bit, okay?" Ace called to her as she retreated towards the village.

A frown creased over her features and she ignored him, deciding she no longer needed to listen to him if she was no longer his companion.

At the entrance to the village was a small sign that labeled it as 'Syrup Village'. It was rather small, consisting of a gravel road with a white picket fence leading from he dock into the village. Along the gravel road in the village was small rows of houses on either side - most of them being stores with the homes sitting inside the second story. Almost as soon as she had entered the village, she found the bar and decided that it would be best to ask where she could find the nearest shipwright.

The door rang as she swung open the door, causing every eye to turn and look at her curiously - wondering where the blue-haired girl had come from. But as quickly as it came, their attention was pulled away as a voice yelling came from outside, growing louder as it came closer.

"PIRATES ARE COMING! PIRATES ARE COMING!" as boy around the age of fourteen screamed dashing down the road as he yelled out his alarm. "THEY'RE COMING! PIRATES!"

Ceil could hear the grumbling of the villagers in the bar as they ignored the boy - some turning back to their meals while others stared lazily out the window as the boy ran by. Several villagers stood on their doorstep and screamed profanities at him, whil the children resorted to throwing rocks at the young teen.

"BUT IT'S TRUE! THEY'RE HERE! PIRATES!" he cried, swiping snot from under his long nose as he tried to keep himslef from right out bawling. Another stone hit him, striking him in the forehead and drawing blood. He fell to the ground and held a hand to his forehead, blood seeping slowly through his fingers.

One of the men stepped up to him and growled down at him, Ceil following behind to watch the quarrel. "Usopp! This is getting ridiculous! Quit your yamming about pirates, your old man 'aint coming back! Get it into that stupid head of yours!"

"BUT IT'S TRUE!"

The man raised his arm to hit him but quickly Ceil ran and stood in front of the collapsed boy, her arms widespread as she protected him. "I think you've done him enough harm for one day. Just leave him be, he's hurt enough."

The man simply grumbled and left to go back to the bar, the rest of the group following along and dispersing back to their homes.

Ceil turned around to look down at the sniffling boy as he rubbed blood out of his eye from the bleeding head-wound. Without a word, she leadend down and pulled a a role of gauze and cloth from her bag that she had pilfered from Ace's first-aid kit in the life box on the boat. She carefully slipped his armadillo styled bandanna off to get to the wound, and gently dabbed it clean, before wrapping the gauze gently around his head, and then slipped the bandana back over the dressing.

"There, you go! I'm not a doctor, but that should hold up for awhile. It looks worse than it really is, head wounds bleed alot," she said gently with a smile.

He stared at her open-mouthed in wonder. "Y-you helped me!" he yelled bluntly.

She blinked and laughed gently. "Well of course I did, why wouldn't I?"

He looked down at his lap sadly and absent mindedly fingered the gauze that stuck out barely below his bandanna. "Well...everyone thinks I'm just a liar who crief wolf for attention..."

She tapped a finger to her lips. "Well...are you?"

"No!" he shouted, staring her in the eye before dropping his gaze back to his lap. "I just hope that if I say it enough, pirates really will come..."

"Why would you want that? You don't want them to raid the village do you?"

He shook his head and looked off toward where you could faintly see the cliff-side through the sparse foilage. "Not these ones. My dad is a brave warrior of the seas! He's a pirate too!"

Ceil smiled at the younger teen's enthusiasm and stood back up to look down either side of the road. "Ne...Usopp was it? Do you know where I can find a place to stay? Or maybe even find a shipwright?"

He scratched the end of his long nose and stood up next to her, barely reaching her chin in height. "There's only one hotel, but I think it's full. And the island's shipright lives up on the cape by my house. I can show you if you like!"

She nodded. "I'd appreciate that."

Usopp lead her back through the town and out down a small dirt path on the south end of the village. The small white picket fence that ran through the village, ran along the path as well, stopping slightly by a tall oak, before continuing past it on the other side.

"So, Usopp. Tell me about your father. What kind of a pirate is he?" Ceil asked, remembering her idea of what a pirate was like.

He grinned back at her as he marched on. "Well~He's a strong warrior of the seas! He's heroic, and brave, and can beat anyone with one punch!"

Ceil sweatdropped. "That last one was a lie wasn't it?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry...it's in my nature. But, I really want to be a strong pirate like him some day! I'm even a captain already! Captaaaaaiiiiinnnnn Usssoooopppp~" he sang, throwing his hands up happily.

Ceil laughed. "Captain Usopp eh? Well then..._Captain_ Usopp where to?"

He pointed off to a small shack on the edge of the cliff overlooking the cape. They briskly manuvered around the rocky slope to the shack and Usopp rapped his knuckles lightly on the wooden door. Shifting and crashes came from behind the door, and the door opened quickly, letting out a burst of black smoke, from out of it stepping an older man, his face covered in soot, rings around his eyes from where goggles most likely had sat.

"Eh? **(1)** Uso-chan, what's up? Who's this lovely little doll?" the man laughed, his eyes shifting between the young teen and Ceil in slight interest.

"I've got a customer for you Shi-san!" Usopp laughed, gesturing to Ceil behind him.

The elder man laughed and waved his had to the doorway, where the smoke had just dissapated from. "Well then, come on in!"

Ceil was led into an entry way, on the left a counter and on the right side opening out into a large workshop covered in in wooden frames and connon parts. A small scortched patch sat in the middle of one of the tables - in the middle of it melted cogs and pistol parts melded to the counter.

"So dear, tell me. What is it you're looking for specifically?" the man called Shi said, dropping a small portfolio onto the counter in front of him - stirring up the sawdust into the air.

Ceil coughed and swiped to air away from her face, stepping over to the counter and opening the book gently to keep hersalf from suffocating on the wood shavings. Large vessels and caravals colored each page, an even larger number dotted beneath then. Each new boat she turned to seemed to become more and more expensive. By the last page she groaned and glanced down at the suitcase in her had in disdain.

"Something wrong, doll?" Shi asked, peering over his rounded spectacles.

She shook her head and closed the book. "No...it's just I was kind of hoping you would have something a bit cheaper."

He frowned and glanced down at the book. "Well, those are cheaper than the usual price. How much do you have, maybe I can make you a deal."

"I only have 100,000 beli left, stupid freckled bastard lost me 24,000,000 beli, it's all I have left."

He grinned sheepishly and scrathed his stubby beard. "Sorry doll, but the only thing that could get you is a rudder."

She gave him a small smile. "Eh, I knew it wasn't going to be enough, but it didn't hurt to ask. I could always just hitch a ride on a Marine patrol vessel or something."

"I don't think it would be wise for a pirate to ride with Marines, lass. That's just suicide," he replied.

Ceil sweatdropped and shook her head. "Do I really come off as a pirate?"

The two remained quiet and simply blinked.

"Well I'm not a stupid pirate!" she snapped, turning her back to them and stalking out the door.

"What's so bad about pirates?" Usopp asked, running to keep up with her.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and grimaced. "Well, what's so good about them?"

He glanced down at his brown boots as he thought. "My dad...he's a pirate."

Ceil stopped and looked at the younger teen in regret. "Usopp...I didn't really mean to say that all pirates are bad-"

"That's the point!" he said, stomping him foot. "Not _all _pirates are bad. Some of them just like to have fun! You only think they're bad 'cause you were probably raised with the Marines around, right?"

Ceil fidgeted and glanced at him. "Something like that..."

"Atleast give them a chance!" Usopp said smiling. "You won't regret it!"

Ceil stared down at her sandals and blinked, thinking about Ace's offer.

_"I'll give you a day there to make up your mind. But if you change your mind - just come back before sunset, and we'll act like it never happened..."_

She gazed up at the sun, it's edge just slowly starting to inch down the edge of the horizon. She thought for a moment, her heart beating quicker in her chest as her mind kept going through all the reason to not become a pirate - but the pro's seemed to outweigh those.

And she knew that there would be no way home in the first place...

"I have to go," she said quickly, tightening her hold on her bags and sprinting down the hill.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" he screamed, attempting to run after her but tripping as he did.

She simply grinned widely when she glanced over her shoulder. "TO BECOME A PIRATE!"

* * *

She had known it was too late when she was running. The sun had dipped too low, and she was never the fastest runner in her gym class - and that had just been proven when she arrived at the dock to find that he was gone.

"Damnit, I knew I would be too late," she sighed, setting her bags down and sitting on them. "I shouldn't have said that to him, no I feel like a jerk."

"Well then, I accept your apology."

Ceil's head shot up and she looked over by the jutted out cliff off to the left of the docks, and watched as Ace's small boat driffed from around the rocky edge to rest at the side of the dock. He chuckled at her speechless expression. "What? You really think I would just give up that easily?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just help me with my bag freckles."

He smirked. "Nickname, eh? What should I call you? Fat seal?"

She threw her backpack in his face and he mearly laughed hysterically as she jumped in with her last bags. "Just get the damn boat moving."

"Aye Aye, First-mate."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: That Damn Hat**

"What the hell do you mean allowance!" Ace whined.

Ceil crossed her slender arms over her chest and glared at the pouting freckled pirate. "You heard me! It was your fault we lost all of that money and now you're going to pay! We have barely 100,000 beli left so we have to make it last until we can find a way to earn money. I'm giving you a limit of three thousand beli to spend while we're here and I want you to spend it on something useful, not some stupid shit like a toy or on nothing but food."

Ace pouted at her, staring at the small folded bills she shoved into his large palm. "But...That's not fair..."

"What did you say?"

Ace stood up straight, waving his hands wildly in front of himself as the glare she threw his way made a shiver run down his spine. "N-Nothing!"

Ceil nodded and turned on her heel, stomping away. "That's what I thought!"

Ceil made her way through the large port town, over her shoulder hung the cowskin bag intrusted to her by Mrs. Wanda, and her own explorers bag. Her pocket was stiff with her remaining beli and it seemed as if the saying "got money burning a hole in your pocket" could be applied to this very moment as her eyes wandered over the gold and silver fabrics, intricate jewelry, mouth watering foods and deserts that assaulted her senses like a kaleidoscope.

She stopped in front of an open grill beneath a scarlet pavilion, the grease bubling beneath the long kabobs of foreign meat. "What kind of meat is this?" she asked curiously, her mouth watering to taste the tender meat.

The cook, a heavy set man not much taller than her with a wide scraggly black beard and a green headband hiding the edge of his receading hairline, grinned proudly. "I'm glad you asked! That one there is a mixture of West Blue Sea King, North Blue Elephant Tuna, and Great King Squid from the Grand Line!"

Ceil tapped her chin for a moment before glancing back up. "How much?"

"Well, for you how about two for 175 beli?"

She grinned and pulled a bill from her pocket and handed to the stall owner, who in turn handed her the still sizzling kabobs. "Careful girly it's hot!"

She blew on them carefully before slowly slipping the top piece off and popping in into her mouth. Almost instantly the taste hither and she moaned happily as the meat practically melted in her mouth, the juices rolling over her tounge. "Oh my god, this is heaven~"

The vendor chuckled happily. "Well girly, I'm glad you like it! If you want more later just come back anytime, I'm here everyday!"

Ceil glanced up at the vendor and quirked an eyebrow. "Everyday? Don't you have something beter to do? You don't look like the type of person to stand around all day selling food in the middle of a street."

The vendor smiled softly and glanced up at the blue sky thoughtfully. "Well, I can't argue with you there girly. If anything I'd rather be out at sea, maybe open my own floating restrant like the Baratie!"

Ceil nodded in agreement, eventhough she had no idea what a Baratie was. She took another bite of her cabob and bid the vendor a goodbye before going on her way to explore the rest of the street. Men and women alike shouted catchy lines out into the street to cathch the passerbyers' attentions.

Ceil stopped for a moment at a stall, her eyes wandering over the leather bound books and journals. She stuck the end of her remaingin cabob in her mouth and picked up a small cowskinned leather journal, a golden keyhole clasp holding the cover closed. She opened it slowly and clicked her tounge at the old yellowed, spotched parchment inside the cover, her eybrows furrowing at the obvious previouslytorn edges from former pages in the front of the book. She closed it and ran her fingers across the smooth leather cover.

"Ah, not many people are interested in journals like that anymore."

She looked up at the elderly man, his eyes squinting happily at her, and took the kabob stick from her mouth to anwser. "It reminds me of an old travel log my father always kept hidden in his study. Although, it looks like it's been used before..."

The old man reached forward and took the journal, opening it up and hummed. "It seems you're right, how about I make you a deal? I'll give it to you for 1,000 beli and I'll throw in a writing set for free."

Ceil thought for a moment, humming in thought. _'That would leave me with about 825 beli for rations...' _She nodded and looked back at the man. "I'll take it!" she chirped.

The old man grinned and leaned beneath the table and came out with a small sheath of assorted writing utencils. He swiftly handed the book and roll to her in exchange for the small wad of money then quickly pocketed it with a grin. "Use it well!"

Ceil blinked in confusion and nodded. "Um...thanks..." she said uneasily, stuffing the items into her messenger bag and slipping away to find a cheap market.

At nearly every stall she stopped at that provided rations she found the prices went through the roof when she learned she was a pirate, most likely assuming the thought she would be loaded with gold and jewels.

She sighed and found her way to the end of the market where a woman sat manning a dried foods stall. She learned that she could purchase nearly six pounds for 700 beli, and bought four pounds of dried meats and two pounds of dried fruits, deciding it would last until the next island.

With her purchases hooked into the crook of her elbow, she was on her way to find the freckled boy before he decided to find something stupid. She found him soon after leaning against the wall with his arm, flirting with a buxom blond in a tight outfit.

It wasn't seeing him flirting with the woman that made her ire burn, it was what she saw hanging from the back of his neck, stark orange against his tan skin.

"ACE!"

Said freckled teen jumped in shock and flattened himself against the wall, afraid of what he might have done to draw his first-mate's anger upon him as soon as he heard her angered cry. The girl stood shocked as Ceil stomped her way towards the two, Ace growing more fearful with each step.

"What is this?" she grit out, pointing at him.

He blinked and glanced at the girl next to him then back at his first-mate. "A hooker?" he stated innocently.

"Hey!" the blond shouted, but the two ignored her.

Ceil ground her teeth and reached forward, grabbing the bull's head ornament that hung around his neck, nearly choking him in the proccess of pulling it. "NO...THIS!"

Hanging from his back was a neon orange cowboy hat, two drama faces strapped around the rim with a set of red beads. A lanyard wrapped around towards the front, held in place by a bull's skull ornament.

He gulped. "A...A hat?"

"And...how much did this hat cost?"

"Uh...I forget..."

"ACE!"

"IM SORRY! IT JUST LOOKED SO COOL!" he cried out.

Ceil sighed and dropped the lanyard and rubbed her forhead in exhaustion. "This is the ONLY time you'll ever get away with something like this..understand?"

He nodded then proceded to glance around in confusion. "Where'd it go?"

"Where'd what go?" she asked, looking around as well.

"The hooker."

All she had to do was send him an icy glare to make him to go silent.

"And with what money were you planning to pay her with?"

He blinked. "You have to pay them?"

Ceil slapped her forehead and shook her head. "Nevermind, just nevermind..."


End file.
